IOSS Intermediary

General

There are two options for registration for the IOSS: Either a company registers itself directly or via an IOSS intermediary. Third country businesses which are not established in the EU can only register for the IOSS with an IOSS intermediary. The IOSS intermediary must submit the IOSS declarations and pay the VAT for the businesses represented by the intermediary. The tax debtor is the IOSS intermediary.

Registration

Not everyone can register as an IOSS intermediary. To become an IOSS intermediary in Austria, a specific professional qualification is required. This professional qualification requirement is always met by the following professional groups: Certified public accountants, attorneys and notaries and shipping companies that are members of the trade association of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce. Further, the intermediary must be established in Austria. Another requirement is that the intermediary must have an authorization to represent the business and is not blocked from the IOSS. Duplicate registrations in multiple Member States are not possible.

Registration for the IOSS is performed in the Member State in which the intermediary has her/his place of business. If the place of business is in a third country and the intermediary has an establishment in the EU, the registration must be performed in the Member State where the establishment is located or, if there are multiple establishments, in a state where an establishment is located. Third country businesses cannot be IOSS intermediaries.

Registration in Austria:

Step 1: Send registration application via FinanzOnline

If the conditions are met, registration as an IOSS intermediary can be performed via FinanzOnline. An Austrian VAT number is required for registration. When registering, the IOSS intermediary can at the same time indicate which importers they are representing. A registration can only be performed if at least one importer is provided.

Step 2: Deposit letter of attorney

As soon as the registration application has been submitted, the intermediary can submit the power to represent the taxpayer to the responsible tax office. This power to represent has to be submitted for each importer. Certified public accountants, attorneys and notaries generally do not need to submit a letter of attorney to the tax office.

Once the tax office has reviewed and approved the registration application, the IOSS intermediary and the importers they represent are registered. The IOSS numbers for the importers represented are sent to the intermediary. If additional importers are to be represented after registration, they can be added directly via the business profile in the IOSS. Thereafter, the power to represent the added importer must again be provided to the responsible tax office.

Declaration and payment

The IOSS intermediary performs the declaration and payment of value added tax. A separate declaration and payment must be made for each importer.

Ending participation and exclusion

The IOSS intermediary can end the participation of an importer or their own participation at any time directly in the IOSS. If an IOSS intermediary ends her/his participation or is excluded from the IOSS, the importers are automatically excluded. Persistent failures to submit IOSS declarations for an importer or pay the VAT for an importer are attributable to the intermediary, the IOSS intermediary will be held liable. This may result in an exclusion of two years for the IOSS intermediary.

If an IOSS intermediary does not represent any importers in the IOSS for six consecutive months, the intermediary is automatically excluded.